Editrix Abby  

Alter Ego

A Fetish for Fatty D.!

Starring: April Flores aka Fatty D., Lady Barbara Ann, E.K., Courtney Baxter and Lies.
Directed by Carlos Batts
Will Appeal To: April Flores fans, the fetish curious, fishnet freaks and, er, Carlos Batts!
From: Carlos Batts
2006

April Flores is the true definition of a muse. Wife of fetish and fashion photographer Carlos Batts, she has inspired him in many ways, most importantly as a model. Here, in Alter Ego, April is the star of the show, and although the packaging promises a “taste of all of her in this erotic fantasy” and tells of how April’s “real life fantasies and adventures have been documented over the past five years,” I have the distinct feeling that Mr. Batts shares a few of his muse’s fantasies. Wink-wink!

April prances, preens and pisses in this unabashed paean to hot, plump fetish babes in assorted sexy sets of lingerie, fishnets and nylons. She occasionally shares the screen with a slender brunette and a chubby Asian and the three engage In some light bondage while posing for Batts’ cameras. She also co-stars in a provocative scene with a hot trannie; the two roll around and sorta dry hump. But mostly it’s just April, pouting and posing in all her pulchritudinous beauty.

The five-year passage of time in which these shoots take place is notable given April’s changing hair colors and weight fluctuations, making this a sort of “best of” Fatty D. reel. And I have to admit…well, um…Okay, I’ll just say it! ANY guy can grab a camcorder and shoot hours of footage of his girlfriend jumping up and down on a bed so her boobs bounce (which Batts does here)! Any guy can take photos of his wife licking her nipples! And any guy can capture his ladyfriend pissing on film! So is that the point? That anyone can do it? I’m afraid to ask. I mean, Ms. Flores isn’t bad looking…she’s got a cherubic face with big brown doe eyes and fabulous fleshy lips. But she’s definitely not gonna show up on Maxim. But you can see her in Big Butt magazine, in between a whole lot of other models who won’t show up in Maxim.

So then, perhaps that is the point. The box copy does mention “Girls who never thought they could include modeling in their repertoire of experience, because of their non-mainstream attributes, are now finding homes for their various arrays of height and weight, bold hair colors and body modifications.” Well, yes…and Joe Gallant has asked ME to appear in his porn videos. Seems the guy has a thing for “older women”—as in older porn starlets, since he’s probably about the same age I am. The quandary for me is, would I want to see ME on film? I’m sure my husband thinks I’d make the perfect subject of a homemade wank-inspiring DVD. Wait, I’ll ask him!

Yes, he seems to believe that “It validates the guy, because his chick is so hot that other guys would pay to see her.” Okay, I’ll buy that. But who is the audience? I’m no star. And neither is Ms. Flores. Well, not yet, anyway. Perhaps she will be…any second. And Carlos will be validated. It sort of plays into the whole “girl next door” shtick which posits that every girl is hot. Which obviously opens up a whole can-o’-worms conversation about what constitutes beauty? And what is mainstream beauty? If you buy into the idea that every girl IS hot, then this is one form of beauty. With the world wide web of the internet, a whole world of porn-happy babes is available to viewers; there are women of every age, shape and size—in addition to hair colors and styles, body modifications, tattoos and other unique attributes—baring all for their husbands’ web cams. Or their own!

Once you get beyond the physical subject and her assets—or flaws, depending upon your point of view—this is a loving Valentine that is very different indeed from Batts’ previous film, American Gothic, which was more experimental video art as opposed to fetish jerk-off footage, as Alter Ego appears to be. But if you compare it to all the other stuff coming out of the San Fernando Valley, well, it isn’t even apples to oranges; it’s more like apples to giraffes. If you visit April’s web site, www.fattyd.com, and find her to be appealing, you will most definitely enjoy Alter Ego. And if you don’t, you just as definitely won’t. It’s all a matter of taste! Now, let me go grab the camcorder…

 

[Written April 2006]